1958-08-01 Char-Koosta News

              The September issue will contain information about the National Congress of dlan Affairs which was to be held in .tissoula  Sept.  15 to 20. All  Montana tribes hosted the Congress.
CHAR-KOOSTA
PUBLISHED BY CONFEDERATED SALISH AND KOOTENAI TRIBES, FLATHEAD AGENCY. MONT.
Vol. 3 — No. 10
August, 1958
The picture above is a mate to one that appeared in the May issue of the Char Koosta. This picture is south of the other one taken. In the back ground is the picturesque peak known as Mount Sin-Iel-Man taken from the Salish word Flathead. At the head of the canyon is the famous Mission Falls, which can hardly be seen in the picture because of the snow. When the snow is gone the
falls can be seen as one breaks over the Ravalli Hill on hi-way 93 from a distance of about 12 miles appearing as an image of an iceberg surrounded by the great wall of the Mission that tower 9,000 feet into the horizon.
At the right of Mount Sin-Iel-Man about 8.000 feet high in a little basin is Lake Sin-Iel-Man, where at one time was a scene of tragedy. A few local young
men in 1930, were above the Lake, when Bus Thompson, an outstanding athlete of St. Ignatius High School in the early 30's slipped and fell to his death. He left a wife and son. Today a plaque has been placed high on the mountain in memory of this incident. As one looks at our Mission's to many people it is a recreational area, to others it symbolizes sadness, and others majesty.
Alene Indians of DeSmet, Idaho. There is a slight dialectial variations and seme difference in the words between the languages of these different tribes. However the adjustment is readily made by the Indian themselves. The prayers and hymns were recorded, transcribed, and edited by Thomas Connly, S. J. They were printed by the Accurate Letter Shop of Spokane, Washington under copyright 1958 and distributed by Mitch Michel, Warley, Idaho of the Cour d'Alene Indian Tribe. The Musical notations of most of these Indian hymns has never been transcribed before and it has been very difficult, therefore, to fit the tempo of Indian singing to standard measure patterns. Indian church hymns arc usually sung in a high pitch. The songs in the new Indian hymn book has been transposed into a lower and much more sim-
(Continued on page 2)
Indian Praye
by Louis J. Tellier
Just off the press for public church services is the publication of hymns and prayers written in the Flathead, Kalispell and* Spokane Indian language. The title of the hymn book is "Quay-lem V En-chow-men" which means in the dialects of the three tribes "Songs of the Church". Considerable study and research has been made in arranging and compiling these Indian Hymns, a large number of Indians have been contacted as to the words in the hymns and the authentic Indian singing. This is the first publica-on of Indian Religious songs that include three different tribes of Northwest Indians, among the Indians of honorable mention who assisted in the editing of the Church Hymns in the Flathead tribe were Joseph Woodcock, St. Ignatius, So-
rs and Hymns
phie Conko of St. Ignatius, Mary Combs of Arlee, Ellen Bigsam of Arlee, and Mary Poker Jim of Arlee. From the Spokane tribe were Cole Moses and Isaace Camile, from Kalispell groups were Joseph Ignace and Catherine Frey, from the Cour d'Alene tribes were Mitch and Mary Michel, Catherine Pascal Finley, Ignace Williams and Ignace Gary, some of the hymns were written a number of years past. The late Bazil Peone who was a member of the Spokane Indian tribe contributed eight of the hymns that was recorded in the early 1900's. The common language of these hymns and prayers has been widely used by the Salish or the Flathead Indians, and is also used by the Kalispell Indians at Usk. Washington, and the Spokane Indians of Wellpinite, Washington, also the Cour d'